Editing Province of Ciudad Real (section)

==Geography==
The province of Ciudad Real is located in central Spain and is the third largest province in the country with an area of {{convert|19813|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}. To the north lies the Province of Toledo, to the northeast the Province of Cuenca, to the east the Province of Albacete, to the south lie the [[Province of Córdoba (Spain)|Provinces of Córdoba]] and [[Province of Jaén (Spain)|Jaén]], and to the west the [[Province of Badajoz]]. To the northwest of the province is a separate area, the [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] of [[Anchuras]], which is sandwiched between the [[Province of Badajoz]] and the [[Province of Toledo]]. The provincial capital is [[Ciudad Real]]. Part of the province is part of the plateau of [[La Mancha]], an elevated but fertile area averaging {{convert|500|to|600|m|ft|-2}} above sea level, the highest elevation being in the comarca of [[Campo de Montiel (Ciudad Real)|Campo de Montiel]] at {{convert|900|m|ft|-1}}. The main river, crossing the province from east to west, is the [[Guadiana]], and its right bank tributary, the [[Cigüela]].<ref name=Philips>{{cite book |title=Philips' Modern School Atlas |year=1973 |publisher=George Philip and Son, Ltd. |isbn=0-540-05278-7 |page=37 }}</ref>

Most of the province is an arid plain, cool in summer and very cold in winter with wide daily fluctuations. The area is agricultural, with wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, grapes and olives being grown. Cattle are raised here and there are large flocks of sheep. In the valleys formed by the upper reaches of the Guadiana and Cigüela is a wetland area called La Mancha Húmeda. The lagoons and marshes have a resident population of wetland birds and are visited by migrating wildfowl in autumn and spring.<ref name=Baskett>{{cite book|author1=Baskett, Simon |author2=Ellingham, Mark |author3= Brown, Jules|author4=Fisher, John |author5= Dubin, Marc Stephen|title=The Rough Guide to Spain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeMY4BGzNiMC&pg=PA210 |year=2004 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-84353-261-3 |pages=210–213}}</ref>

The largest towns in the province are [[Ciudad Real]], with a population of 74,960 at the 2014 census, [[Puertollano]] with 50,608, [[Tomelloso]] with 38,080, [[Alcázar de San Juan]] with 31,650, and [[Valdepeñas]] with 30,705. Other larger municipalities with over ten thousand inhabitants are [[Manzanares, Ciudad Real|Manzanares]], [[Daimiel]], [[La Solana]], [[Miguelturra]], [[Campo de Criptana]], [[Socuéllamos]], [[Bolaños de Calatrava]] and [[Villarrubia de los Ojos]].

The [[Tablas de Daimiel National Park]] is located in the province of Ciudad Real. It is a wetland area on the La Mancha plain, an otherwise mainly arid region. It has an area of about 2,000 hectares and is the smallest of Spain's fifteen national parks. It is being expanded to include some of the neighbouring [[dryland farming]] areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/daimiel/ |title=Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel |work=Red de Parques Nacionales |publisher=Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente |access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref> The [[Cabañeros National Park]] is shared with the neighbouring [[Province of Toledo]]. It has an area of {{convert|390|km2}} and lies between the Estena and Bullaque rivers, extending into the Chorito and Miraflores mountain ranges. It contains remnants of the Iberian Mediterranean forest which used to clothe this part of Spain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabaneros/ |title=Parque Nacional de Cabañeros |work=Red de Parques Nacionales |publisher=Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente |access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref>

In the centre of the province is the [[Campo de Calatrava]], the geology of which is volcanic. The [[Campo de Calatrava Volcanic Field]] covers an area of {{convert|5000|km2|mi2}} and has more than three hundred individual structures. It is composed of [[Volcanic cone|pyroclastic cones]], [[lava dome]]s and [[maar]]s, and rises to {{convert|1117|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. The last known eruption was around 3,600 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=210040 |title=Calatrava volcanic field |year=2013 |work=Global volcanism program |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>